The present invention is directed to an apparatus for and method of handling a plurality of hosiery blanks supplied from a series of knitting machines or other source, orienting the blanks in a prescribed manner, automatically transferring the blanks to an automatic toe closer machine and closing the toe portions of the blanks.
In the past it has been the common practice to close the toes of hosiery blanks by having an operator pick up the welt portion of a blank and hold the toe ends in front of a suction tube of a toe closing machine as disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,941,069 and 3,859,938. The operator manually everts the blank on the machine and the toe is positioned for subsequent sewing.
In an effort to eliminate some of the manual operations required in loading toe closing machines, the system has been developed as disclosed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06-236,884 filed Feb. 23, 1981. In this disclosure, an operator manually places a blank on a finger of a rotatable arm assembly.
The present invention provides for automatically closing the toe portions of hosiery blanks wherein the manual loading of blanks upon a tube or unloading fingers has been eliminated. In one embodiment of the system, the blanks are conveyed automatically from knitting machines, oriented in a prescribed manner upon conveyor means, selectively directed to one of a series of loading units which in turn, transport the blanks to toe closing machines where the blanks are everted and then sewn. In another embodiment, an operator uses a wand to pneumatically pick up sequentially blanks from a supply station where they are automatically oriented and directed to a toe closing machine.
In one embodiment, the turret assembly includes support fingers displaceable between collapsed and expanded positions by fluid cylinders, in another embodiment the support fingers are opened and closed by a cam arrangement, and in a third embodiment the support fingers rotate in horizontal planes to release the hosiery blank.
One of the primary objects of the invention is a provision of a new and improved system for conveying hosiery blanks from a knitting machine or a supply station and automatically loading the blanks onto tubes of an automatic toe closing machine.
Another object of the invention is a provision of a spreader assembly for facilitating positioning of the blanks onto support fingers of a turret assembly.
An important object of the invention is a provision of a new and improved system which increases production, reduces expense and eliminates substantially all manual operations.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent when considered in view of the following detailed description.